they are all in each other's corners speaking amongst each other but all eyes are on the fiscal cliff. let's scoot over to the president. easy merging from that meeting with the washington business leaders. let's see what he has to say. >> jim, thanks for your leadership. you know, originally my team had prepared some remarks, they always get nervous when i'm out there on my own, never know what i might say. but given the dialogue that we had the last time, i thought it was useful for me to abbreviate my remarks, speak off the cuff at the top and then most of the time just having a conversation. let me begin by saying all of you in this room are not just business leaders, not just ceos of your companies but you're also economic leaders and thought leaders in this country and i recognize that all of you have an enormous investment not only in your own companies but in the well-being of america. there are a lot of patriots in this room and people who care deeply about not only your bottom lines but also the future of this country. you've shown that over the last four years. we've gone t